eConnect introduces e-tailer incentives to support Bank Eyes Only payments

[January 14th 2002]

eConnect has established a per-transaction incentive program for remotely hosted shopping carts to support the eCashPad Bank Eyes Only. eConnect also said that its online eConnect Store is operating in the black and that it has received a positive response from the media and the public to the beginning of a marketing campaign for the eCashPad -- a revolutionary device that attaches to home computers and provides consumers with substantially greater security in making purchases and paying bills over the Internet.

"This is a new paradigm in how consumers and merchants will conduct business online in the future," said eConnect Chairman and CEO Thomas S. Hughes. "As e-commerce increases, so will the problem of security. The eCashPad and Bank Eyes Only provide a solution."

Hughes added, "We are creating an entirely new industry from the ground up, and we are focused on deploying enough eCashPads into public's hands to create a formidable presence in the marketplace." He said eConnect is rapidly building up inventory of eCashPads and has a target of shipping 10,000 to consumers this month and approximately 20,000 per month for the remainder of this year.

The eCashPad -- a proprietary hybrid magnetic stripe reader, PIN pad and "smart card" device with USB connection -- is a home terminal that enables consumers to swipe their credit card and make payments to Internet merchants accepting the Bank Eyes Only system.

Under Bank Eyes Only, only the bank -- and not the merchant -- has access to a purchaser's confidential credit card data, thereby reducing the risk of that information being stolen on the Internet. It also reduces the chance of charge-backs and may result in discounts from merchants.

"We already have gained the acceptance of a widely used remote shopping cart service and are introducing our Bank Eyes Only service to the remote shopping cart community," said Erin Lovejoy, eConnect's Director of Sales and Marketing. "This is an important development for high-volume activation of Bank Eyes Only Web merchants."

Web merchants wishing to add the Bank Eyes Only service to their sites only need to contact their present acquiring bank to obtain an additional merchant ID number that will be used for receiving Bank Eyes Only payments from eCashPads. If a merchant is using an in-house shopping cart, eConnect can immediately provide Bank Eyes Only support. If the merchant is using a remote shopping cart, it must arrange for that shopping cart operator to support Bank Eyes Only.

Links
eCashPad		http://www.ecashpad.tv